Yuma Fire Department Press Releases

On Wednesday, July 1, 2015 just after 8:30 pm, the smell of smoke was reported in the 2100 block of east Gila Ridge Road.

Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived in the area and began to search for the source. A short time later smoke was found to be coming from a garage in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) yard at 2165 east Gila Ridge Road.

Firefighters gained access to the locked garage and found an ADOT utility truck on fire inside. The fire had mostly been knocked down by the fire suppression sprinkler system inside the garage. Firefighters extinguished the remaining fire and confirmed it had not spread further. Damage was limited to the vehicle and to sections of the garage directly above the truck. Several other vehicles, as well as additional tools and equipment, were undamaged. Fire investigators believe the fire originated in some equipment on the utility truck. The fire is not considered to have been intentionally set.

Fire sprinkler systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them. Fire spreads quickly and can double in size every minute. Even small fires can cause significant damage to personal property and endanger those nearby. Contrary to many Hollywood portrayals, only sprinkler heads directly exposed to the heat (155 degrees for a residential sprinkler) activate, not those in the rest of the room, building, or complex.